Sunday morning, Yuuki Hanami woke up from a bad dream about a timeline where Kyoyota Arianagi did not join the student council.
Waking up from the stress-induced dream, her long blond hair pointing every which way up in the air as if someone took static electricity to it. Yuuki also had bags under her eyes. She forced herself to roll before rolling out of bed, and went to the bathroom sink.
Yuuki Hanami's morning routine was rather plain - she washed her face, brushed her hair down, applied light make-up, then went back to her room to change out of her silk pink pajamas.
Her outfit for the day was a teal blouse, red skirt that went down to her knees, and a black ribbon holding up her long hair. After getting ready for the day, she went out into her family's living room. Her dad was making breakfast in the kitchen, and her mom was sitting at the table waiting to be served.
"Morning sweety, breakfast will be ready soon." Her mom said. Yuuki sat down across from her mom on the decently sized square table. "How has your morning been so far?" Her mom asked. "You never ask me that? Did something happen?" Yuuki said, shocked.
"Well you yelled 'Kyooo!!' this morning so I wanted to make sure everything was ok." This was said in an embarrassingly over acted rendition of what Yuuki had accidently said in her sleep. Yuuki was blushing from ear to ear.
"Mom!! Don't make it sound bad. Everything is fine!" Yuuki was flustered and her mom was laughing.
"No need to be embarrassed honey, people talking in their sleep is normal." Yuuki mumbled in embarrassment, as her dad walked out with their breakfast then quickly returned to the kitchen to make himself a plate.
Breakfast was eggs, bacon, biscuits and gravy, and coffee. Yuuki's parents work in the morning so she either has to make herself breakfast and lunch or stop by somewhere for a quick bite to eat. However, on weekends, it was their special treat that they could share breakfast and dinner together.
"What are your plans today?" Her father asked.
"Not sure yet, it's too early in the semester to spend all day studying. I might stop by the library later."
"I am glad to see you working so hard, keep up the good work." Her father said supportingly. The adults in the Hanami household were optimistic and supportive parents who just want their children to be happy and doing what they want in life.
After breakfast Yuuki went back up to her room and read a novel, the title was That Time an Owl Met a Vampire. It was a good romance novel, at least to Yuuki, but its title had little to do with the actual plot of the book. As Yukki closed the book, she took off towards the library.
…
After she arrived, she started scouring through the romance section to see if any new releases or sequels had come out. It was a secret she didn't really tell people about, not that she really hid it or anything, it just never comes up in conversations.
Truth be told she loved to read romance novels with weird titles, that was what she did in her free time. The one she picked out today was, After you go Through a Deck of Cards, Then What?
After checking it out, she walked over to a nearby park, sat down at a bench and started to read. Yuuki was the kind of reader who was so engaged in the book that sometimes when something would happen to a character in the novel, she would make sounds out loud as if they were happening to her. So at this park, in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, people would occasionally hear strange sounds, but Yuuki made these notions without realizing it was even happening.
Once she finished the novel, she looked up at the clouds and breathed in the nice fresh spring air. "I wish something interesting would happen everyday, like it does in books." She said this saddened that nothing exciting was happening on her day off.
Outside of school, or rather, outside of being the student council president. Nothing interesting ever happened to or around her, it was a simple boring life. After about thirty minutes of looking at the sky waiting for something to happen, she went back to the library to return the book.
She walked around town for a bit looking for something interesting, before finally heading home. She ate dinner with her family, took a long bath, and retired for the night. This minus school, was how her days usually went by.
…
Also on Sunday, or rather at the start of the week on Tuesday, Kimori Tora started cram school. Normally, once every Thursday, he would go to a cafe and treat himself for the hard work he's done. However, Kimori had been really busy with his club and other activities that after cram school, he would just go home and pass out. So on this Sunday, three weeks into school, he decided to treat himself by going to a maid cafe.
This wasn't just any maid cafe, it was a new store, and they were doing a launch promotion. Your first time going you would receive a punch card with one hole punch, if you went six times within the launch promotion to fill out the punch card, you would receive a free meal, a shirt, and a polaroid photo with any maid of your choosing who was working that day.
They opened the same day Hanabira High started, and he even mentioned it to Kyo on the day of the entrance exam. However, he never got the chance to go, not even once, over the past three weeks. Today was finally the day he could attend, and was looking forward to it.
Kimori woke up, put on his gym clothes, and ran around the block. It was his boost for the day, a morning ritual. After coming back home, he changed, putting on a white shirt with a thin blue jacket over it, blue jeans, and a silver necklace. His ear still had the piercing with the small H engraved in it. Going to the bathroom to make sure his outfit was looking stylish, Kimori brushed his long yellow-ish hair making it look less messy, then he ate breakfast. Leftovers from the night before, it was nikudango (japanese pork meatballs) with some rice and vegetables.
After eating he went back up to his room to practice his art. Kimori loved art, it was his main passion ever over badminton, he dreamed of studying art in college and eventually doing it as a career. Currently he is working on a landscape piece of the Swiss Alps.
After two hours, he took a break, relaxed - watched some shows, read some manga, and played some games. Then, when about 5pm rolled around, he put on his shoes, and headed towards the new maid cafe. The maid cafe was about a fifteen minute walk from his parents place and was located on the third floor of the building. After reaching the top of the stairs, he opened the alpine wooden door which made a small ring from the bell attached at the top. This altered the maids who promptly said "Welcome home master!"
Despite appearances the whole bit of his being the master over the maids, was not what he liked about maid cafes. Yes, he grinned when they said this to him, and was happy at the attention, even if it was an act. However, the part that he enjoyed was the atmosphere.
To Kimori, they were less "maid cafes" and more "themed cafes" and with that mindset, he enjoyed seeing the various kinds of themes and characters that the staff would create. Not just from the maids themselves, but what decorations the chefs would add to the food, how designers would use the space granted to them, things of that nature.
Maid cafes were the easiest and most abundant way to achieve this atmosphere, but Kimori would occasionally go to an anime or game pop-up cafe if it was a series that he enjoyed. These pop-up's were far less consistent than maid cafes were, so to him they were hit-or-miss. This cafe's theme was nature. This was clear from the alpine door, the hard wooden floor when he stepped in, flowers in every corner of the room. It was well lit and cozy.
Anyway, as Kimori entered, and was greeted, he was taken to his seat by a woman dressed in a green and white maid uniform. The frills on the end of the sleeves and at the bottom of the skirt were white, but her legging, bow, and neck piece were a grassy green. The lady wore a brown wig to match. "What can you I get started for you Master …"
"Kimori," he said, letting her know him so that she may finish her line. Once she did, she handed him the menu. Kimori spoke again, "for now I will just take a water. This is my first time at this location, so may I please get a punch card as well."
"Of course, I will be right back." She said with a light bow before leaving.
Kimori looked at the menu, sure enough it was nature themed items. Omurice with the face of a bear on it, a rice bowl that looked like a forest from the toppings, a cake that looked like a log, and there were themed drinks as well like one that looked like honey and another that looked like murky water.
Since this was going to be his dinner, he figured he should go with the rice bowl and the murky looking water drink. The lady came back again and dropped off the water and the punch card, "your server will be right with you."
A few minutes later, a woman with long black hair, purple abyssal eyes, wearing a black bear eared headband, dressed in a traditional black and white maid outfit, but with a bear face in the center of the skirt, was now looking at him. This lady before him, was none other than Shino Akino the Vice President of Hanabira High School. The woman, nicknamed, "the ice princess."
Kimori looked up and realized who it was, his instincts said to say something, but he held his tongue for a moment. Maids often used fake names to avoid their real identity from being known. Since this was a themed cafe, it was his duty as the customer, to keep that immersion up. Not only for himself, but for the staff and other customers as well. Kimori smiled and seemed like any other ordinary customer.
Shino Akino recognized him as well, from their brief meeting when he blocked her from seeing Kyo in the classroom, before he was dragged away. Shino later got Kimori's name from Kyo, not that Kimori knew that. For a moment she was scared, that her facade was broken, that he would yell out her name, but he didn't, no before speaking, he paused, catching this she continued to play her role.
"Do you know what you want, Master Kimori? All of the food here is unbearevably tasty!" Shino's usually cold demeanor was stripped away, and replaced with a warm, soft spoken, excited vibe to her.
Kimori was internally freaking out on how Shino knew his name, but through sheer willpower, acted like how any pro-cafe goer should, and with a smile gave his answer. "I would like the moss and mushroom rice bowl, with the river water tea, and the log cake, please and thank you." Shino wrote down his order on her notepad, smiled, and said "got it, I will bear right back."
Kimori downed his water to cool down from the situation that he had found himself in. The only thought that ran through his mind was how does she know my name? Everything else came secondary. He had decided the moment he realized it was her, that he wouldn't tell a soul, not even Kyo or his brother.
It simply was not his business, he stumbled upon this news by chance, an accident, and he knew he should not have been one to find out. With that decision finalized, that he would take this info with him to the grave.
Kimori just wanted to know how she knew his name. Why and how would someone of such importance know a guy like me? Kimori tried to reason it out, such as him being well known in the badminton scene, but she didn't peg him to be a sports person. Eventually these thoughts came to an end, when Shino Akino came back with the three menu items he asked for.
"Thank you bearing with the wait, Master Kimori!" Shino said, setting down the items on the table.
"Thank you, miss bear." Kimori said realizing it would be awkward to ask for the servants name, even if she went by an alias. Shino smiled at his politeness, but Kimori did not know if it was genuine or fake.
"Are you ready to make your food taste even more bear-tastic!?!" Kimori nodded, as the two did the traditional maid ritual. Creating a heart with their hands and aiming it towards the food, namely the moss and mushroom rice bowl and saying together in unison
"Moe, Moe, Kuuuuuuuun!!!" "Moe, Moe, Kuuuuuuuun!!!"
"Anything else you need at the moment, master?" Shino said, holding her hands up in a cute bear-like gesture slightly tilting her head. Kimori nodded and thanked her again before digging in. First he drank some of the tea. It was a strong flavor of rosemary, but was not bad.
Next he moved onto the main dish, the moss and mushroom rice bowl. The bowl was filled with things like broccoli, cabbage, green bell peppers, whole brown mushrooms, and a light brown broth. It had a very earthy smell to it. The taste was mediocre. It was not bad, but there were too many flavors going off at once. Kimori split the dish up, eating just the broccoli and cabbage by itself, then eating the rest together. With the diminished combination of flavors, it tasted better, but not great.
Then came time for dessert. The log cake was a plain white sheet cake rolled into the shape of a log and coated with a light and dark brown frosting, with a light chocolate drizzle on the top, leading to what looked like a small pond of chocolate. The cake was the best part of the dish by far. It was fluffy, the frosting was not overpowering, and the chocolate was a nice addition. Eating the cake with the rosemary tea made for a satisfying finish.During this time as Kimori was analyzing the food, Shino re-filled his water, but he barely noticed.
After eating his food, the time was around 6:15pm. He looked around the cafe to admire the decorations, the art work, the posters, and even other people's food. On occasion Shino, his server, would come by and check in to see if he wanted to leave yet, but he wanted to take the experience in. Around 6:45pm, he finally decided it was time to leave. Heading to the front, and getting his punch card filled in. This was the first of six he needed. Then he headed out and down to the main street.
On his walk home he was met with another thought. How would Vice President Shino know that I won't tell anyone, unless I tell her myself? How would I contact her? I don't have her phone number, we aren't friends at school, I can't tell Kyo. Ahhh, my head is killing me. Kimori sighed, then walked back to the building with the maid cafe, and waited outside.
With it being Sunday around 7pm at night, rush hour was slowly dwindling down. Kimori stayed, standing next to the building, on his phone, watching professional badminton matches, until around 9pm. There was a lot less foot traffic than before, and when he looked up, he saw Shino Akino wearing a white sleeveless blouse, leggings, black shorts, a black coat, and boots. She had changed from her work clothes to a more comfortable weekend outfit.
Kimori gulped and walked up to Shino. "Hey there" he neither wanted to say her real name, her nickname, nor her workname, just in case it drew too much attention. So an approach without a name at all was much easier, although it looked a bit sketchy. Shino Akino quickly turned expecting some kind of creep, but it was Kimori, with one hand behind his head, and another giving a small wave awkwardly. Shino switched to her cold school self, with her glaring, Kimori spoke first, "can we talk?" of course she was hesitant, but nodded.
The two walked to a more secluded place, but one much closer to where they both lived, to the pathway of Koen park. After reaching the entrance to the grassy nice park and underneath a lamp post, Kimori with a strong bow of apology said, "I promise not to tell a soul."
Shino was taken-a-back, she was expecting harassment, blackmail to get her number, to her Kimori seemed like a playboy, but this display of genuine "this was an accident" view, was shocking.
Shino sighed with Kimori still bowing his head. "Raise your head, um … if I can ask, what were you doing at a maid cafe so far from school." She specifically chose a place that most students wouldn't attend.
"I know this may sound weird, but going to cafes is my hobby. Outside of badminton and art. I like the atmosphere of cafes, they are relaxing, and I like to go and scout out new ones whenever they open. This one was close enough and had an event going on, so I wanted to try it out. Rather, I will keep going until my punch card is filled out, then I will stop. I will go every Tuesday and Thursday after cram school at 5pm." Kimori said this, both in an apologetic tone, but also one of conviction.
Despite bumping into the Vice President who works there and clearly wanting no one to know that fact, he also did not want to stop his hobby over this piece of information. Kimori also said which days and times he would be going in order for her to work around that if she did not wish to see him.
Shino waited, paused, thinking, "you aren't who you seem at school, can I ask why?" This was a complete shift in the conversation, and in tone, Shino was not the cold Vice President right now, she was sincere, and soft spoken, like the tone she uses with the student council members. This question threw Kimori off, but he answered honestly.
"I am not trying to be conceited in my answer. However, a lot of girls like me. I am athletic, smart, and have goals for the future. The amount of first years who blush around me is too much! It has been this way since my second year of middle school. They like me for the idea of me, but not who I really am. So, at school, I act like a playboy, a pervert. Sure, I am a guy, and have those thoughts, but in reality I just want someone to like me for … me." Kimori said this, not fully confident in his answer, it felt cliche, and like an excuse, and some of it was a lie. In reality Kimori did act this way outside of school as well, anywhere near where people who know him might be watching. The only ones who know what Kyo is really like are his friends, Kyo, Himori, Goda, Tsu, Hiro, and now Shino Akino.
"I am the same way." Shino said this from the heart, then continued. "Most guys like me for my looks, for my mature stature, so I became cold as a way to push them off. Most people now keep their distance, it isn't like I want to be a cold person, but I feel like I have to, other than around a few select people."
"Right, I totally get it!" Kimori exclaimed.
They both gave an awkward self deprecating laugh. "Anyway, this wasn't meant to be serious, I just wanted to let you know that I won't tell a soul that you work there." Kimori said.
"It will be our little secret," Shino added.
"This might sound weird, but since it's late, would you like me to walk you home?" Kimori said blushing.
Shino was worried about how late it was, and since they were no longer on a busy street, she also got the feeling that something bad might happen. "If you wouldn't mind."
"I also promise not to tell a soul where you live! In fact I will erase it from my memory the moment we arrive."
This made Shino laugh. "You don't have to go that far"
Kimori dropped her off at home, and came back to his place around 10pm at night. The two now had their own little secret and would be seeing each other pretty often, at least for the next three weeks.